Former South African President Nelson Mandela, left, speaks as Bill Gates listens at an HIV/AIDS youth forum at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The reality may be less alarming. A philanthropy study out today from Bank of America shows that the majority of today’s wealthy and affluent donors wouldn’t stop their giving even if deductions were wiped out entirely. (BofA and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University polled 700 households with net worths of at least $1 million and incomes of $200,000, which now counts as “Obama rich.”)

According to the survey, 51.7% of wealthy donors said their giving would remain the same if they received zero income-tax deductions. Granted, 47% said they would give less if deductions were wiped out. Of that group, about a third said their giving would “somewhat decrease,” while 10% predicted their gifts would “dramatically decrease.”

So only 10% of the rich would cut off their contributions–and that is only if deductions went to zero. President Obama is proposing to reduce the deduction for top-income households to 28% from 35%.

Still, there is troubling news. Those households earning $5 million or more gave less in 2007 than in 2005. And the economy in 2007 was in a lot better shape than it is now. Patrick Rooney, interim executive director of Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, told the Chronicle of Philanthropy that the economic downturn may have hit the very wealthiest donors before other Americans.

“In 2007, the economy hadn’t collapsed the way it has now, but we were beginning to see some fraying around the edges,” he said. “That may have had a bigger impact on some of the high-net-worth households in a bigger way, and sooner, than it did on the overall economy.”

If the wealthy were feeling less charitable in 2007 because of the economy, imagine how they are feeling now.

So when charity takes a tumble this year–and it will–the economy, not Obama, will be the culprit.

For the wealthy, Tuesday’s inauguration is the dream party: a chance to rub elbows with the similarly rich and powerful, to become part of a historic moment, and (most importantly), to get access to the man of the moment.

It also is a chance to drown their financial sorrows in an emotional wave of optimism.

Yet it may come as a surprise that at a time of financial crisis and Green correctness, many of the wealthy are choosing to arrive by private jet.

According to an article in Bloomberg, as many as 600 private jets were expected to touch down in D.C. for the inauguration. The runway at Washington Dulles was closed Saturday to allow as many as 100 small planes to park. And the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said it expected a total of 500 small jets to land from Jan. 16 through Jan 21.

“That would set a record, topping the 300 the airport accommodated for President George W. Bush’s 2004 inaugural,” an Airports Authority says in the article.

Of course, flying private to a celebration of a populist, pro-environment President is a bit like the Detroit execs jetting to Washington for bailout money. How do you call for social responsibility after touching down in a $40 million, gas-guzzling Gulfstream? (Maybe travelers will buy carbon credits).

Of course, as the jet industry will remind me, jets save time, they are important business tools and they are ideal for fliers with special needs. And just because the next president has vowed to raise their taxes doesn’t mean the wealthy can’t join the fun.

Many of the jets are probably filled with lobbyist-funded junkets, corporate groups and wealthy politicos taking along their friends. It is a chance for that Boca Raton, Fla., health-care entrepreneur who bundled donations for Barack to impress his friends and clients with an all-expense paid trip to the real party of change. It is a chance for that Hollywood producer to fly in some actor friends and bask in true celebrity, or the trial lawyer from Texas to get his “Barack-and-me” photo.

At a time when stuff is no longer cool, the best way to show status among the wealthy is through access. And nothing will turn heads at dinner parties like the line “When I met Barack at the inaugural ball….”

The presence of so many wealthy and their jets also underscores a stark reality of Mr. Obama’s election and presidency. As much as some people wish that Mr. Obama–the face that launched millions of grass-roots Internet donors–will eliminate the influence and impact of the wealthy on politics, the wealthy will always have a center table in Washington. And, of course, a prime spot to park their Gulfstreams.

About The Wealth Report

The Wealth Report is a daily blog focused on the culture and economy of the wealthy. It is written by Robert Frank, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal and author of the newly released book “THE HIGH-BETA RICH.”

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